Middletown offering homeowners new recycling bins, but you probably won’t get one

Peg Quann, Bucks County Courier Times
·2 min read

They might be the most sought-after giveaway in town.

More than 1,000 Middletown residents have joined a waiting list to get one of the new blue recycling containers on wheels. That’s in addition to the first 2,500 residents who already ordered the easy-to-move bins.

But it looks like other township homeowners who want one are likely out of luck.

Who gets new recycling bins in Middletown?

At the township supervisors meeting April 17, the board authorized a payment of $66,905 to Toter of North Carolina to purchase an additional 1,500 35-gallon containers. The bins are free for homeowners who pre-registered.

Waste Management provides trash and recycling pickup service to approximately 12,250 homeowners, but the contract doesn’t include providing bins for residents, said Assistant Township Manager Nick Valla.

The township ordered the first batch of Toter bins using a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection covering 85% of the cost.

The first 2,500 residents who signed up will get their bins during distribution dates which begin next week.

"Approximately 650 residents are scheduled to pick their bins up at the township’s Earth Day event on April 29. Additional dates for the other bins will be made available to those who are pre-registered or on the waiting list," Valla said. The Earth Day event will take place 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pavilion 2 in Core Creek Park, 901 Bridgetown Pike in Middletown.

Toter bins for recycling were distributed for free to 2,500 households in Middletown to help residents with recyling their glass, metal and paper products. Now another 1,000 residents have signed up asking for the bins, so the township is ordering 1,500 more from the Toter company in North Carolina.
Toter bins for recycling were distributed for free to 2,500 households in Middletown to help residents with recyling their glass, metal and paper products. Now another 1,000 residents have signed up asking for the bins, so the township is ordering 1,500 more from the Toter company in North Carolina.

Township Manager Stephanie Teoli-Kuhls said interest in the new bins has skyrocketed in the past few months.

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“People are actually strongly supportive of the large Toters,” Teoli-Kuhls said.

But Valla said there are only a few bins remaining available on the latest order and the township isn't planning to expand the program.

“We don't have resources (to pay for bins) for the whole community," he said.

Homeowners who miss out on the bins can still use their own container for recycling, as they do for trash.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Recycling bins in big demand by Middletown residents